The Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies (OCHJS) is a

recognised independent centre A recognised independent centre (RIC) of Oxford University was a status awarded to acknowledge a special relationship with a small number of institutes and centres which are involved in teaching and research in their specialised areas in Oxford. ...

of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Its

research fellows A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

teach on a variety of undergraduate and master's degrees in

Oriental studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studie ...

, and it publishes the ''Journal of Jewish Studies''.

History and case statement

The centre was founded in 1972 by Dr David Patterson to help restore Jewish Studies in Europe in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Currently it is based in the Clarendon Institute, Walton Street,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, OX1 2HG, having relocated from Yarnton Manor in 2014. It is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

and a company limited by guarantee incorporated in

, under

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

. Today, it is the leading academic Jewish studies centre in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Its Fellows and Lecturers provide courses in Hebrew and Jewish studies for undergraduates and postgraduates up to doctoral level in many faculties within the

. The centre also promotes Jewish studies based on the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

's Hebrew and Jewish collections by supporting research, by development projects, and by shared staffing with the centre's Leopold Muller Memorial Library.

Leopold Muller Memorial Library

The centre's library is named the Leopold Muller Memorial Library. It is housed in the basement of the Clarendon Institute. It comprises one of the best collections of books and periodicals in Jewish Studies in Europe and serves as a resource for scholars, students and visiting fellows of the centre. The core of the Library consists of several rare collections and archives; among those one finds a large collection of materials donated by Rabbi

Louis Jacobs Louis Jacobs (17 July 1920 – 1 July 2006) was a leading writer, Jewish theologian, and rabbi of the New London Synagogue in the United Kingdom. He was also the focus in the early 1960s of what became known as the "Jacobs Affair" in the Bri ...

, Loewe Pamphlets Collection from Herbert Loewe and his elder son, the library of Jacob H. Coppenhagen (1913–1997), Kressel Archive, Foyle-Montefiore Collection (which incorporates the library of

Leopold Zunz Leopold Zunz (—''Yom Tov Tzuntz'', —''Lipmann Zunz''; 10 August 1794 – 17 March 1886) was the founder of academic Judaic Studies ('' Wissenschaft des Judentums''), the critical investigation of Jewish literature, hymnology and ritual. Nah ...

), Lipson-Shandel and

Moses Montefiore Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, Philanthropy, philanthropist and Sheriffs of the City of London, Sheriff of London. Born to an History ...

Archives of rare documentation regarding life and activities of Sir

, one of the largest collections of Yizkor Books in Europe – it counts over 800 memorial volumes for communities destroyed in the Holocaust, and the Archive of Rabbi Hugo Gryn. Among the Library's most recent enterprises are the Digital Haskalah Library project and the Raphael Loewe Archives Digital Exhibition.

Notable academics

Norman Solomon Norman Solomon (born July 7, 1951) is an American journalist, media critic, left-leaning progressive activist, and former U.S. congressional candidate. Solomon is a longtime associate of the media watch group Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting ...

Géza Vermes Géza Vermes, (; 22 June 1924 – 8 May 2013) was a British academic, Biblical scholar, and Judaist of Jewish–Hungarian descent—one who also served as a Roman Catholic priest in his youth—and scholar specialized in the field of the ...

List of presidents

* David Patterson (1972–1992) * Philip Alexander (1992–1995) *

Bernard Wasserstein Bernard Wasserstein (born 22 January 1948) is a British and American historian. He taught at universities in the United States and the United Kingdom from 1976-2014. Now retired, he is an emeritus professor of the University of Chicago. Wasserste ...

(1996–2000 * Peter Oppenheimer (2000–2008) * David Ariel (2008–2014) * Martin Goodman (2014–2018) * Judith Olszowy-Schlanger (2018–)

Emeritus governors

*Martin Blackman *Elizabeth Corob *Michael Garston OBE *Sir

Richard Greenbury Sir Richard Greenbury (31 July 1936 – 27 September 2017) was an English businessman, and chairman and chief executive of the British retailer Marks and Spencer from 1988 to 1999. During his tenure, the company continued to grow until its profi ...

*Professor Alan Jones *The Lord Marks of Broughton * Peter Oppenheimer *Felix Posen *Sir

Maurice Shock Sir Maurice Shock (15 April 1926 – 7 July 2018) was a British university administrator and educationalist. Shock was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham and later read philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) at Balliol College, Oxfor ...

*Dennis Trevelyan, CB *The Rt Hon The

Lord Woolf Harry Kenneth Woolf, Baron Woolf (born 2 May 1933) is a British life peer and retired barrister and judge. He was Master of the Rolls from 1996 until 2000 and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2000 until 2005. The Constitutional Ref ...

*The Rt Hon The Lord Young CH DL

References

External links

*
''Journal of Jewish Studies'' website

* ttp://www.ochjs.ac.uk/mullerlibrary/digital_library/haskalah.html Digital Haskalah Library website
Raphael Loewe Archives Digital Exhibition
{{Authority control 1972 establishments in England Asian studies Departments of the University of Oxford Jewish studies research institutes Organisations associated with the University of Oxford Religious charities based in the United Kingdom ms:Pusat Oxford untuk Pengajian bahasa Ibrani dan agama Yahudi